Let’s be honest, Boston fans had their head in their hands after that 0-7 blowout loss to the Capitals wondering what on God’s green earth was going on. The defense was slow, the transitions were sloppy, Tuukka was shocking (and subsequently pulled), and it looked like the Bruins were still finding an identity. But after 5 games, the Bruins sit second in the Atlantic Division at 4-1-0 (Second to the 5-1-0 Maple Leafs). It seems like immediately after the first game, Boston is a completely different team, outscoring their opponents 22-6. Yes, the Bruins have scored 22 goals in four games. It seems though, that Boston’s production is coming primarily from their first line, the Pastrnak-Bergeron-Marchand line. With a team that only seems to be getting younger and faster each season, the production seems to be coming from the veterans early in the season.
Even with the Bruins early success, Bruce Cassidy is still seeing struggles from players he expects more out of. Players like Ryan Donato getting scratched for recently acquired Joakim Nordstrom is a message sent that no matter how well you played last year, nobody is guaranteed a spot on the starting roster unless it’s earned. Even though Donato was credited with a power play goal against Buffalo in game 2, he holds a -1 rating and has only registered 5 shots on goal, not the Ryan Donato we were familiar with last season by any means.
The very pleasant surprise this season has easily been veteran goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Since coming in, in relief of Rask in game 1, Halak has a .962 SV%, and posted a 32 save shutout against Buffalo. It’s looking like Halak could finally be the backup goaltender that the Bruins have needed the past four years.

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